The business card is much more than something a home-based entrepreneur takes to a trade show. Your business card is a foundation of direct marketing. Because of the relatively smaller size, home business owners get closer to their customers.

Now that you’ve finished creating an exciting new line of hand-made products, you might ponder the thought of selling them to a local retailer. Items by talented artists are a wonderful addition to specialty shops.

If you are to stand out in your marketplace, you have to be original in nearly every aspect of your business. To do this, study your competition, understand what they are doing and make an effort to NOT be like them.

There are plenty of ways to demonstrate your credibility and the worthiness of your product or service. The main objective you want to keep in mind is to prove that your product/service/system has been used successfully, and therefore “tried and true”. Read on for details of these techniques.

Now that you’ve finished creating an exciting new line of hand-made products, you might ponder the thought of selling them to a local retailer. Items by talented artists are a wonderful addition to specialty shops. They help distinguish boutiques from big box retailers and charming towns from ho-hum malls.

A lack of preparation may be the biggest deal killer there is. When it comes to connecting with buyers, you must know three areas — and know them well. These include: their company; their competition; and your product or service.

Your success as a service-centric company or individual will be determined not only by how you treat those outside of the company but also by how you serve your colleagues inside the company. In most industries, the companies that are first to embrace change in the way they approach serving clients are those that can gain competitive advantage.